Who makes the best engine oil for the F-series Triton blocks? I've always been a Castrol man (like my father) and my '97 has enjoyed 114,000 miles of RX Super but everyone seems to have their own. Is it just personal preference or is there a real difference (obviously I'm not talking about the 99 cents/quart stuff)?

I've heard that it's more detrimental to switch frequently between brands (due to the different levels of additives) than it is to pick a brand and stick to it. The synthetic versus conventional comparison is obvious, but is it really that different between Castrol, Mobil, Pennzoil, etc.

I've had vehicles over the years and some of them seemed to run better (or get better mileage) with certain brands (i.e. oil, gas) of products and some seemed to only like factory replacement parts. Has anybody found that their F-series runs better with certain brands (oil, gas, filters, etc.) than others?

I've only been a Blue Oval guy for 4 years so any suggestions to help my truck run better/longer would be greatly appreciated.

 

I find that its best to stay with the same oil from start to finish...I like Mobil...The new engines are made tighter...to get oil to the right places you need the 5w20...

I never use Fram filters...

5000k between changes or less and they find any coming problems on the service check list...

 

Best engine oil threads usually end after a week or more of bickering, articles, and product promotion. Look in the archives and you can read so much oil information that you'll never care about it again.

 

Best oil I have used in the past on my other vehicles:

Kendall 20w-50
Castrol 10w-40
Valvoline 40w Racing oil

Best oil to use in our trucks:
Motorcraft 5w-20

 

Amsoil!

 

Most overlooked oil IMO is Shell's Rotella - now available in synthetic and it kicks but. I worked around 40 ton electric railcars with their 90w gearboxes & love the smell of heavy lube maybe its the Rotella smell but when draining the F-150 oil at 7,500 miles I always get it smeared all over & up my sleeve from the *#%^* filter location and the Rotella still feels alive when the Mobil 1 reminds me of PAM cooking oil.

In 1982 my new $5200 Mercury Lynx 2L 4 cylinder motor got Mobil 1 and I changed it out whenever it dropped below the add point on the dipstick - I honestly got 20K between oil changes. I had zero engine problems and did the $800 trade-in at 138,000 miles when the clutch & struts were failing. Some of the oil changes were way late I am sure - huge gasolene content, jet black & poured more like water then oil. So I'm pro Mobil 1 & also like the Rotella but only have 45K using Rotella.

 

for me its castrol gtx !!! ford says 5w20 but i personally think its to thin, so i use 5w30 its not that much different anyways. in the owners manual it calls for 5w30.thats what the 4.6 and 5.4 where built around anyway so it must be a good choice and its a little thicker. just my 2 cents....

 

IMO it is Motorcraft semi-syn 5W-20 the best oil for the money usually 1.49 a quart or less at wal-mart. Go to bob is the oil guy website http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

and do a search on uoa's used oil analysis
on the 5W-20 oils and you will find they all have done very well Pennzoil, Castrol Exxon superflo and of course Motorcraft. There are probably several other good 5W-20's that I haven't mentioned. I run Pennzoil 5W-20 in my 02 Honda and had great results last year on a UOA in the middle of a Texas Summer with 110F temps in rush hour traffic. I am running Motorcraft 5W-20 in my 04 Expedition and plan on doing a UOA soon on it too. You will find that the MC 5W-20 has worked very well in the Ford Modular motors and thats including several that have towed trailers in the summer too.

 

I am fairly sure I have ruined my wifes 97 Expediton 5.4, by switching between Castrol , Valvoline, Motocraft and Havoline thru the years.. Plus all the Fram oil filters it has endured.

Its only has 148,000 miles and I doubt that I will get more than 250,000 to 300,000 miles because of all the abusive oil change intervals of 4000 miles.

Dang my tongue and cheek hurt.

 

OIL IS OIL just keep it changed. nuff said.